Psalm 37:4 (New American Standard Bible 1995)
Delight yourself in the Lord; And He will give you the desires of your heart.
What does it mean to delight one's self in the Lord? It means to take pleasure in our relationship with the Lord. It means that the sole focus of our lives as we serve and follow the Lord is Him. There are many things that desire our time and attention. During the time that these words were written by the Psalmist, idols continually tried to draw the people of Israel away from the one true God to worship false gods who were no gods at all.
But when we pursue the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and remove all things from our lives that would hinder our relationship with Him, He will give us the desires of our heart. But the question is what desires? Will God simply grant us anything we want because we are seeking Him? What if those desires are contrary to His word and His character?
There is something supernatural that happens in the life of a person as they begin to seek and pursue the Lord on a daily basis. The Lord tells us if we seek Him we will find Him, if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us (Jeremiah 29:13). When we begin to truly seek after the Lord on a daily basis and draw near, the sole desire of our lives become Him. He begins to change the desires within us from selfish, self-centered desires, to desires that align with His will and purpose in our lives.
God is continually leading and guiding us as we seek Him with all our heart. I have found that one of the ways that God directs us toward His purpose and His will is Godly desires that align with His purpose and plans for our lives. I have found that when it is a desire that God has put inside us it is something we cannot escape. We continue to pursue it and the more we pursue it, our desire for it grows. This is a way the Holy Spirit draws us toward the will and purpose He has for our lives.
Some have taken this verse and tried to use it to gain selfish desires that exist within them. They think that if I delight myself in the Lord, God will bless me in the way I desire. But if the things we desire do not align with His will and they are contrary to His word and character, He will not pour them out in our lives. If He did that would make God a liar and not a loving Father. But because He truly loves us, as we seek Him, He will prune the desires that destroy us and replace them with desires that will point us to Him and His kingdom.
Prayer
Father today I pray that you would lead and guide me. Remove any desire in my life that is contrary to you and your kingdom. May everything I desire simply be surrendered to your will for my life. May my heart and mind become one with yours. May I simply live for the pleasure of your presence. Father my desire is to delight in you every moment of every day. Help me in my weakness and my limitation. In the name of Jesus, Amen
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